Susan Boyle starting on the makeover: Like you wouldn't...?

These photos of Susan Boyle rocking a cute little dress and a hip leather jacket will no doubt have some folks crying “blashphemy!” Ever since the Britain’s Got Talent video of the frumpy, bushy-eyebrowed, never-been-kissed Boyle singing angelically first hit the Web a week and a half ago, many among the sobbing masses have lamented an inevitable post-stardom makeover. Few will blame the sweet Scottish songbird herself but will instead blame a ruthless, unfair entertainment industry that forced a woman with a hidden inner beauty to succumb to a plastic, cookie-cutter standard of external beauty.

That’s bull. Who among us wouldn’t take advantage of first-rate stylists and wardrobe options if given the chance? If she goes crazy with it, as some rumors say she might, and winds up leaving a plastic surgeon’s office looking like Joan Rivers, that would be a shame. And frankly, this photo does have me concerned she will try to shoehorn herself into a “hip and young” look that doesn’t suit her. But overall, it’s the most logical thing in the world for Boyle to decide to spruce herself up a bit now that her image is constantly being shown on TV — not to mention every computer on the planet earth. Does it have to be “pressure from media” that makes a person want to wear fashionable clothes, or even (God forbid) choose to groom their eyebrows or whatever else this woman will decide she wants to do? We should give Boyle — and frankly, show biz — a break. The desire to make changes to one’s appearance, even if dictated by society’s standard of beauty, and feel like you look your best is the most natural thing in the world. We all live in that society, after all, and it’s unfair to expect someone to be so secure that they don’t derive some sense of self-esteem from how they see themselves in it. If our interest is in Boyle’s inner beauty, then it shouldn’t matter what she does to her appearance anyway.

So, PopWatchers, are you disappointed to see the makeover beginning, or are you happy to see her taking advantage of the help now available to her? If she does decide to make herself over, is it because of an unfair pressure from show biz? Should any of it matter, seeing as we’re talking, first and foremost, about a singer?

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